MHU - Mental Health & You

Description

MHU - Mental Health and You / Mental Health University

What our app is:
MHU app teaches people to recognize the signs of mental illness and provides resource links to treatments. Our app will give you the tools you need to help you navigate a mental health crisis, provide help, and connect your friend or loved one to the resources they need.

What our app isn’t:
Mental Health and You is not a substitute for medical attention.

Introduction – 1 in 5 of us will suffer from some form of mental illness in our lifetime, yet it is an odd paradox that our society, which now speaks openly about almost everything, remains largely silent when it comes to mental illness. Either out of fear or lack of information, over 60% of those struggling with mental illness do not seek treatment, suffering alone or worse, self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to help them cope.

We believe this stigma is toxic, both in terms of needless suffering and the lost potential of human lives. We need only look to the tragedies at the Washington D.C. Navy Yard–and others at Newton, Aurora, and Virginia Tech – to understand that we can remain silent no longer.

We know what to do when our loved ones have a heart attack or stroke, but few of us know what to do in a psychiatric crisis. The purpose of this app is to help you identify the signs of mental illness and direct you to the resources you need to help a friend or loved one who may be in crisis.

Together, we can change our community's perceptions so that people who need help are no longer afraid to get it.